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The Illinois Labor History Society Seeks to encourage the preservation and study of labor history materials of the Illinois Region, and to arouse public interest in the profound significance of the past to the present. Learn more>>

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Calendar

Upcoming events.

Gallery

Photos from previous events.

Bookstore

Bookstore and reviews.

Welcome to the ILHS Website

We are very pleased to welcome you to the ILHS website. We invite you to explore the site. It contains many of the same features and content that made our former website so popular, but it also has new additions:

Looking for a recommendation for a good labor book or CD? Check out our new reviewssection, with reviews of some of the latest labor history books and musical cds, written by ILHS Vice President Mike Matejka.

WHY Teach Labor History?

Why is it important to teach labor history to the next generation?

According to the renowned labor historian James Green: "Today, with union membership reduced, government standards for worker rights and safety under assault, and job security in jeopardy everywhere, young people entering the labor market are still vulnerable to to abuse in the workplace. And yet, most are alarmingly unaware of the decades of struggle that previous generations engaged in--and that union members are still engaged in today--to extend human and civil rights in the workplace." Read more from James Green's article here.

Jim Green passed away earlier this year, please take a moment to read a tribute to this true champion of labor history written by ILHS Vice President Mike Matejka here.

2018: A Look Back

In Pictures

Quotes

"The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voice you are throttling today." August Spies, 1855-1887

"And I long to see the day when Labor will have the destiny of the nation in her own hands and she will stand as a united force and show the world what the workers can do." Mary Harris 'Mother' Jones, 1830-1930

“What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures, to make manhood more noble, womanhood more beautiful, and childhood more happy and bright.." Samuel Gompers, 1850-1924